May I Say I Loved You More?
by subtle-temptation
Summary: Even on the first day of first grade, Edward knew. The bruises on her neck were enough to tell him that he had found someone who would always be there for him, and, years later, it was still true. They loved each other--enough to run away together.
1. Chapter One: Your Sympathetic Whispers

**Yes, the whole abuse thing sounds cliche, but, in a weird way, I don't control my imagination. Everything just pops into existence in there. And there's a reason cliches become cliches, after all.**

**Some info: Charlie's not the dad in the story. I just can't picture the big guy doing things like this, honestly. So, we shall call this father... Gabe. Just Gabe. And an advance warning--a lot of the stuff at the beginning, like some explanations for positions, are going to be pretty damn passe, but they're not essential to the plotline, mostly.**

**The overall inspiration for this story: music. Mayday Parade and We the Kings, thank you. And, of course, Dashboard Confessional.**

**Disclaimer: Because she's cool like that, Stephenie Meyer came up with Twilight. I know, I know, it sounds really weird. But that's why her name's in capital letters on the front covers of all three (soon to be four) books. Crazy, huh?**

**This chapter's basically all the background stuff that you need to know, so there's going to be a lot of flashbacks and explanations.**

**Note: AU--all human.**

**BPOV**

I could never be sure when he would come at me--I mean, it wasn't like he was relentlessly violent _every_ night. Sometimes it was just childish,in a way; a shove here, a trip there. After all of these years with Gabe, still I had yet do discern even a hint of warning before the hatred would take over, controlling his fist, feet, arms in such an enraged manner. But since my mother had passed away, things had gotten worse. There was no more of her gentle caresses and soft, musical murmurings of Sweeney Todd's "Not While I'm around." One of the memories of her life that came back to me the most involved this song, but not at all in a pleasant way. Easily, it qualified as one of the worst.

_I was on Renee's hip, my eight year old eyes streaming tears. She was running toward the closet, a room we frequented when Gabe was in a particularly bad mood. Today, though, was bad. Very bad. My mothers cheeks were almost as wet as mine, and her breath came in short, erratic bursts. Soon, we reached our destination, my father roaring not far away, and locked the door behind us, collapsing into a corner where Renee pressed her face into my hair, struggling to control her sobs._

_"Nothing's gonna harm you--" There came a loud bang on the door. I whimpered._

_"Open up!" Another bang. "Come on! You can't hide forever!"_

_I could feel my mother's hands arms moving to let her hands cover my ears, but we both knew that it would help nothing. "Not while I'm around..."_

_The banging was relentless now. It was the sound that would haunt my nightmares for years to come. "Open the damn door, Renee!"_

_"No one's gonna hurt you..." She was singing into my ear, now, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. "No one's gonna dare..."_

_For a moment, there was silence. The pounding of fists and feet on the door had stopped, but that couldn't be it. There was no way..._

_Silence._

_Then, without warning, something much more durable than Gabe's body rammed into the wood. I cried out in fear, clutching myself tightly to my mother. Again, the earsplitting sound came. A sob tore from Renee. _

_"Others can desert you, not to worry, whistle I'll be there." _

_Her voice was almost lost against the sound of splintering wood. We didn't have too much longer, we could tell that much. The door was giving in._

_"Nothing can harm you..." There was a hole in the door, and Gabe's hand charged into it, feeling for the lock. _

_"Not while I'm around..."_

_And then the door was open._

Several of my mothers ribs had cracked under the blows, that day. When we took her to the hospital, we said that, chasing after me, Renee had skidded on the landing of our apartment building and tumbled down the stairs. At this, the doctor had given me a severe look that clearly showed his impression of children, and walked away to tend to the injuries. He could do nothing for her, however, not emotionally at least. She began to rapidly fade, and died just after my ninth birthday. Every detail of that ordeal has been indelibly burned into my brain, but the sharpest words of all were the ones that came back most.

_"Self Neglect."_

That's what they had said, dammit. That, they said, was what killed her, but I was helpless in proving them wrong.

Had I been alone throughout all of this, I don't doubt for one moment that I would have killed myself, but I was not alone.

From the moment that I had met Edward Masen, I knew that we would be each other's friends forever, and quite possibly the only ones either of us would have. It had been the first day of the first grade, and our meeting had gone something like this:

_"There's a bruise on your neck." That was him, with his eyes narrowed in the look of concentration that I soon came to appreciate._

_"I know." And me, the girl in the ratty blue sweater who always kept her head down._

_"Where'd it come from?" He rocked back and forth on his heels._

_"I'm not s'posed to talk to strangers."_

_"I'm Edward Masen. My daddy was a doctor. Now we ain't strangers no more. How come you got hurt?" Really, the sweet kid had looked concerned._

_"I was standing in front of the door. Then Ga--_my_ daddy came and accident'ly made it hit me."_

_"Oh." He thought for a moment. "What's your name."_

_"Isabella Swan."_

_"Imma call you Bella."_

_"Everyone does."_

And that was the first time I had met Edward Masen. Ever since, we had been inseperable, been there through everything for each other. And when Edward became old enough to comprehend violence and the extremeness of it, he had managed to figure out my secret. I made him pinky swear to never tell a soul, no matter how bad it got, and he made good on that promise. He knew what it was like to have a sucky life--I mean, he didn't get... abused or anything, but his stepmother had never really been much of a mother at all. She just kind of ignored him while she went out and partied, smoked, and brought strangers home, which, I came to find out, was not the way he'd been brought up by his father, a former doctor, who had been killed in a knife fight that had erupted in the emergency room one day while his son was in kindergarten. That must have been hard, having a great life, only to have everything ripped away.

So we grew up together; he tended my wounds, both emotional and physical, while I would be the one to show him that I cared in as many ways as possible. Eventually, our friendship evolved into something more. It began when I would sneak over to his house at night and sleep with him, and I don't mean have sex with him sleep with him, I mean literally sleeping. Or talking, depending on how tired we both were. I was pretty sure that Gabe never noticed--he left for work early--and if he ever did, he didn't really care. Tanya, Edward's stepmother, had walked in on us one day as we were waking up, but she just snorted and muttered something like "clever little bastard."

I'll never forget the day I kissed him for the first time. It was a magical kiss, the kind that many girls would die to have. You see, Edward and I have this game where one of us will start singing a song out of thin air, and then the other has to sing the next line, and so on and so forth until the song is done. Sometimes it cheers you up, sometimes it makes you laugh, and sometimes it annoys the hell out of you, but you have to play the game forever once you start it.

_There's no going back_, Edward had once told me with a desperate look in his eyes. _It's something you have to pull all the way through with, no matter what.  
_We'd been fighting that day in the seventh grade--something we do often enough to have a healthy friendship--and he'd tried to pacify me by starting a round, but I'd refused. The look in his eyes as he'd said that, though, melted me, and I'd belted the words out, wondering if I was only beginning to grasp what this game meant to Edward. Anyways, it wasn't long after that incident that we were playing round after round one day, when I decided to whip out one of my favorites.

_I closed my eyes, biting my lip and concentrating hard, trying to find the perfect song to get back at him._

_"Don't bust your light, little firefly," he teased me as I frowned in thought. "Just choose a song!"_

_"But I can't..." I began, opening my eyes and starting to raise my hands in exasperation. But then, I smiled--his words had given me inspiration--beginning smugly: _

_"And you said it would be funny to keep me hanging in suspense."_

_He smiled, knowing that this was a song I could listen to over and over again and probably sing backwards, too. **(A/N: One Man Drinking Games, Mayday Parade. The inspiration for this entire story. There's a link to the song on my profile. Seriously, to get the depth of this scene and how much is communicated between them just while they sing, you have to be listening to the song.) **"Then I'd run over to your house," he responded. "And I'd scale the chainlink fence."_

_"That borders your back yard, and then I'd climb through your window."_

_"And I'd whisper that I love you as you fall out of your clothes." He blushed a bit on that line, but neither of us really had problems talking about those sorts of things. It's not like we'd never skinnnydipped together when we were little._

_"And we'd lay there in the darkness like this dream of you I had."_

_"Where we captured all the fireflies, and knew what time we had." There, that was the line that had popped into my head when the song came to me._

_"Could be counted on our fingertips, and that almost made you cry."_

_"But you let me hold you tightly as we said all our goodbyes." Edward seemed a bit sad, all of the sudden, putting one hand briefly on my arm._

_"May I say I loved you more?" I turned to look at him, trying to read his expression. _**(A/N: Ha. I'm too lazy to make them repeat lines that need to be repeated. No disrespect to the song, though.)**

_"And it must of been and hour that I clutched you in my arms."_

_"And I must have said the right things, because you instantly felt warm." I put my hand on his shoulder, and he moved his own to cover mine, squeezing my fingers gently._

_"And you heard my heart stop beating, but you wanted not to cry." The sadness that Edward held deep in his eyes seemed to be resurfacing, and all I could think to do was to rest my cheek against his fingers, letting my knose skim across the knuckles._

_"As your sympathetic whispers told a tale of bad goodbyes." _

_"You swore you heard me laughing and I swore I saw you smile." My hearstrings felt liket hey were being tugged at, by this point. I angled my head downward, hoping that he couldn't see the tears brimming in my eyes._

_"As the time we've spent together was meant to last us quite a while."_

_"As I take this piece of you with me I'll carry to my grave." A bead of liquid slid down my cheek._

_"And knowing that for someone, you're an angel sent to save." Edward reached over and brushed it away, then let his hand slide down to cup my neck._

_"Keep Breathing my angel, if you go down I go with you." More tears came as Edward began his set of the repeating and overlapping lines._

_"May I say I loved you more?" At this point, I knew that I would start sobbing soon, and normally I would have excused myself. But the electricity generated between our skin was too much to let go._

_"Keep breathing, just keep breathing." I kept saying the lines over and over again as he said his, but the adrenaline in my veins knew what was coming._

_"May I say I loved you more?"_

_Then I turned my face up, and his lips met mine. _

_We broke apart for a moment, searching in each other's eyes, but the kiss started again with much more vigor. I shifted my position so that I could move my hands into his hair while one of his stayed on my neck and the other slid down to my waist. For how long we stayed like that, I don't know, but there was still unfinished business to attend to._

_"So let's drink to memories we share." _

_"Down one for all the hopes and cares." He was murmuring into my ear, his lips brushing the lobe lightly and sending chills down my spine. Only then did I realize I'd been crying the whole time._

_"Here's two for being unaware that you're gone." No, that line didn't fit. He'd always be there._

_"Because before too long you'll be a memory." Edward seemed to be thinking the same thing._

_"Lets drink to the memories that we shared."_

_"Before too long you'll be a memory."_

_"Down one to all the hopes and cares."_

_"Because before too long you'll be a memory."_

_"Here's two for being unaware..."_

_"I said before too long you'll be a memory."_

_"That you're gone."_

_"I said before too long you'll be a memory." _

_And then the song was over._

_Moments passed in a peaceful silence, the kind that I came to associate with the aftermath of sweet rushes of adrenaline. Then:_

_"Bella?"_

_"Hmmm?"_

_"We _will_ have a happy ending," he said, and I knew he was telling not just me, but himself, too. _

_We both believed it._

* * *

**So, what did you think? Tell me, tell me, tell me! I don't care if Cookie Monster popped into your head while you were reading this, I want to know! **

**And seriously, listen to the song. Everything makes so much more sense when you do.**

**Oh, yes I do know that I skipped a lot of lines on "Not While I'm Around." But I don't think Renee would've wanted to sing to her kid about "prowling demons" at a time like that.**

**Also; I think I need to elaborate on "The Game" a little bit more, but I couldn't find a place to fit it in the story. So here goes: First, you don't always have to just sing a line of the song. It can be a verse or a random amount until the other person buts in, or anything else. Secondly, in the future Edward might just sing a song to Bella, or vice versa. Just because you've started The Game doesn't mean that every time someone starts singing something, you have to play. And thirdly, and very importantly, the flashback of their first kiss is crucial to remember. This is the point at which Edward fully and completely understands what The Game means in their lives, what it represents.**

**And are Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart dating? On those videos they seemed like they went really well together. **

**Read and review. Like now. Tell me what you thought, or I'm not doing another chapter. (:**


	2. Chapter Two: Let's Not Pretend

**Okay, so let's gone over what we've established, in simple, cliche (as you can tell now, I like the word cliche, even if I can't get that stupid accent mark over the e) terms: **

**Bella is an abused child whose mother is dead.**

**Edward is a neglected child whose real father is dead.**

**They love each other.**

**Now, here's something that I really should have mentioned in the last chapter:**

**Edward does NOT know the real version of Bella's mother's death. She felt that she should have done something, and therefore she was better off letting the world think her** **mother had died chasing after her.**

**Hm. I don't think I have a song (or songs) that's the inspiration for this chapter, yet, but "Lullaby" and "Runaway" are making sense for the plot. And, from things that have popped into my mind, both might come up for later chapters. And "Fall to Pieces" is good, too, though I'm not too big of an Avril fan (I do like her, though.) Thanks, Twilightgrrl5!**

**Oh, and I might have to change the rating to M soon. There's going to be language once certain characters come in--which reminds me: Don't worry, the rest of the Cullen gang'll pop up sometime soon.**

**Now here's chapter number two.**

**BPOV**

I didn't feel very good. My head ached and I was almost positive that I was going to vomit, but I knew that Gabe would be home soon--and Gabe hated it when I got sick. Instead of staying a good way away from me like most sensible people would have, he insisted on getting incredibly close to inspect me, like he thought I was faking it or something.

I needed Edward. Every cell in my body was screaming for him, crying out for him to come steal me away. I didn't think I could stand being alone with Gabe during the usual two hours it took him to get intoxicated enough to sleep. Or pass out.

But my _head. _Oh, God, it burned like the fires of hell. My stomach wasn't as bad, but it felt like a bloated and incredibly infectious pool of acid. I couldn't even remember getting sick like this before, and it was taking everything I had not to throw up right then and there. Closing my eyes, I flicked off the too-bright lights and slid down the wall, cradling my head in my arms, which helped ease the pain a bit. Eventually, I ended up laying down completely, curled into a ball.

Soft, soothing songs played over and over again in my mind, diverting my attention so that I almost felt okay. It was on Colbie Caillat's "Realize" when my stomach jerked unpleasantly, begging me to let its contents go, but I resisted, pressing my lips tightly together.

Just then, the door burst open and the lights snapped on. Even through my eyelids, their brightness hurt.

"What the hell's wrong with _you_?" Gabe asked, no doubt surveying my pathetic, crumpled form.

"Nothing," I whispered hoarsely, clamping my arms tighter around me. Gabe's heavy footsteps reverberated unpleasantly inside my ears as he trudged over to the fridge. Moments later, the sound of a cap popping from a bottle reached me, and I groaned; I highly doubted he was drinking soda.

"Then get up."

I tried to move, I swear I did, but I could only manage a feeble twitch of my foot. My body wanted so bad to just lay there, to go to sleep and forget the pain...

"I told you to get up." Attempting to move again, I peeked up at Gabe, who was starting to walk past me. As he did so, he sort of kicked me with his foot, the way people do when they're trying to move a box out of their way. Not hard, but enough to jostle me and send a vicious pang of heat through my skull.

It hurt like hell, but I slowly uncurled, Gabe's glare never leaving me, and clutched at the wall to pull myself into a standing position.

"Now move. Go to your room." He leaned closer to me, and I flinched away instinctively. I guess that upset him, because he grabbed me by the back of the neck and pulled my face close to his. The stench of alcohol on his breath was unbearable--it was all I could do not to gag. I turned my eyes away.

He shook me, sending another sharp stab of pain through my body, causing me to cry out in pain. It wasn't just the illness that was getting to me now--it was the older injuries, too, ones that hadn't been from my clumsy accidents.

"Look at me," he growled, and, fighting the pricking sensation in my eyes, moved my gaze back to his face. "Good. Now, when I tell you to go to your room, you go. Got it?"

A tear spilled over. "Yes."

"'_Yes,_'" he mimicked, giving me another jolt. "Yes, _what_?"

"Sir," I whispered, still trying to fight my streaming eyes. "Yes, _sir_."

"Now, what are you going to do?"

"Go--" I gasped in pain. "Go to my room."

"Then go," he said, shoving me from his grasp. I staggered away, but as soon as I was down the hallway and sure he was on the couch with his bottle in hand, I veered toward the bathroom, and promptly vomited into the toilet. My breathing was shaky and I sank to my knees, grasping at the seat as I began the horrible process of completely emptying my stomach while trying to keep as quiet as possible. It wasn't a quick task.

As soon as I was done, I pulled myself up and stumbled off towards my tiny bedroom, just past the closet that had never been repaired. I shut the door without a sound and collapsed onto the bed, willing myself to go to sleep. It didn't work, however, so I was stuck with having to wait out the time until Edward climbed the steps of the conveniently positioned fire escape to steal me away for the night. I didn't anticipate what would happen next.

The door burst open, the sound making me wince, and Gabe barged in, moving quickly towards me. I scrambled back to the corner of my bed, the tears returning, but he just pulled me towards him by my hair, causing me to cry out.

"Why the _hell_ does my bathroom smell like a flipping dog?" His hand met my flesh, but I was sobbing too hard by that time to answer. Oh, God, it hurt so much...

"Answer me!"

But I couldn't, and so I paid the disastrous consequences while I shook with tears. After the usual punishment was carried out, Gabe ended up dragging me to the bathroom and shoving me to the floor, screaming at me to clean the place until it shined. I just nodded weakly and clutched for the cleaning supplies, trying to ignore the horrible ache in my head that had been, to my disbelief, drastically amplified.

It must have been an hour that I scrubbed at the floor, toilet, and sink, wishing that I could die the whole time. My father's snores could be heard from the living room, but I didn't stop, knowing that he would inspect everything the next day, and that the smallest thing would set him off. My arms, legs, neck--they were all screaming in pain as I kneeled there on the floor, but I just couldn't take the risk.

"Bella."

Instinctively, I flinched away and raised an arm to shield my tear-stained face. I couldn't take anymore tonight; I was sure it would kill me. The tears started up again at the very thought, and before I knew it I was sobbing again.

"Bella," came the voice, but this time as a soothing whisper. "Bella, please. I'm not going to hurt you, I swear. Just look at me."

Oh. It wasn't Gabe. I lowered my arm but stayed hunched against the bathtub, looking up hesitantly at Edward, afraid that he was going to morph into a livid version of my dad.

He approached me carefully, extending one hand towards my face as he might have while about to pet a dog. Still blubbering stupidly, I grabbed wildly for him, and he pulled me into the shelter of his arms, where I continued my crying. Edward could tell that it had been bad tonight, but he had seen worse--he usually didn't, however, see me in a state like this.

"Oh, God, Edward," I gasped. "I'm so sorry... I was so stupid..."

Chancing a look at him, I saw that his eyes were cold and hard--they were angry. "Don't, Bella," he growled. "Don't _ever_ blame yourself for this... this _mess._" He pulled up one of my arms slightly and gestured to the bruises there. I just sobbed harder, pressing to his body as if he could take my pain away.

It was several minutes before Edward pulled away gently, moving his arm to my waist. "Come on. Let's get you out of here."

We walked--well, Edward walked, I hobbled--to my window, Gabe's thunderous snores still echoing through the drafty apartment. As silently as was possible, the pair of us alighted on the fire escape and began the dreadful descent towards the street, both knowing that this would hurt me in the morning.

Soon, we were on the ground, hurrying off to Edward's considerably tidier apartment that was just a few blocks away. It was by instinct that I knew the way--I could have found my way there blindfolded--but he insisted on whispering the directions in my ear as I leaned against him heavily.

"Good," Edward murmured once the building had been reached. "Now just up a few flights of stairs and you can lay down..."

Horrible aches were stealing through my body, causing me to want to lay down and die. I needed to throw up again, and the craving I felt for sleep was disconcerting; literally, I collapsed into Edward's arms a few times. There just wasn't enough energy inside of me to keep me awake _and to _start healing my form.

After what seemed like an eternity, Edward opened a few doors and set me gently on his bed, stroking my face with his cool fingers.

"Where's Tanya?" I managed to mumble, but my words came out drastically slurred.

"Out," he responded with a grim smile. Tanya was always out.

The mattress squeaked slightly as Edward lay down next to me and cradled me in his strong grasp, continuing the gentle caresses that helped the aching. Which reminded me:

"Edward. I need to go to the bathroom."

He seemed to understand that it was pretty urgent, because he disentwined our limbs and half-carried me to the toilet, pulling back my hair as I vomited.

"Really," I gasped. "You don't have to... you don't need to..." Then my stomach lurched again.

Edward stroked my back as I finished what I _thought_ I had finished earlier in my apartment, looking thoroughly worried as he gazed at the sheen of sweat covering my forehead.

"Bella..?" I understood the question he hadn't voiced aloud.

"No," I murmured, nestling into his chest. "I was like this before he got home."

"Are you sure, though?" The worry was much more pronounced. "Infections, banged up organs... They could be part of the problem."

"Everybody gets sick, Edward."

He sighed, seeming to resign a little. "Can I at least check?"

"Okay," I mumbled, pulling my head over my shirt and wincing as the fabric dragged across my neck. My legs hurt a lot, too, but I felt like keeping my pants on.

Edward pulled some peroxide and tissues out of his drawer and set them on the nightstand, carefully assessing the wounds before doing anything. I looked at him hesitantly, hating to see the pain and anger on his face.

"Burns, Bella?" His velvety voice was gruff. "Don't you think you should have--"

"It was a while ago." I turned my face back to my pillow, fighting to stay only in the present second. "I don't want to talk about it."

Then he went about tending them in complete silence, using his knowledge from obsessive reading of medical books and magazines to do whatever he could. Edward wanted to be a doctor, just like his father had been, and I could never help but admire how his goal never wavered. Still, I wasn't sure what job I wanted, but my love for literature was angling me towards a writer/editor.

"All done." He handed me one of his big shirts and the pajama pants I'd had stashed here since God-knows-when. I changed as quickly as I could, desperately in need of sleep. Once I'd returned to my comfortable position in Edward's arms, his hands petting my hair, I tried to conjure a song in my mind to take my mind off of the throbbing pains racking my body, but failed miserably. Seeming to read my mind, though, Edward began to gently sing to me in that breathtaking voice of his. **(A/N: "Lullaby," by The Spill Canvas. Link on my profile.)**

"It's the way that you blush when you're nervous.  
It's your ability to make me earn this.  
I know that you're tired, just let me sing you to sleep.  
It's about how you laugh out of pity,  
'Cause let's be honest I'm not really that funny.  
I know that you're shy, just let me sing you to sleep.

"If you need anything, just the say the word.  
I mean anything.  
Rest assured, if you start to doze, then I'll tuck you in,  
Plant my lips where your necklace is close.

"It's those pills that you don't need to take,  
medicating perfection, now that's a mistake.  
I know that you're spent, just let me sing you to sleep.  
It's your finger and how I'm wrapped around it.  
It's your grace and it keeps me grounded.  
I know that you're weak, just let me sing you to sleep.

"If you need anything, just the say the word.  
I mean anything.  
Rest assured, if you start to doze, then I'll tuck you in,  
Plant my lips where your necklace is close.

"While you were sleeping I figured out everything,  
I was constructed for you, and you were molded for me.  
Now I feel your name, coursing through my veins.  
You shine so bright it's insane, you put the sun to shame.

"Oh, If you need anything, just the say the word.  
I mean anything. (I really do)  
Rest assured, if you start to doze, then I'll tuck you in,  
Plant my lips where your necklace is close.

"If you need anything, just the say the word.  
I mean anything.  
Rest assured, if you start to doze, then I'll tuck you in,  
Plant my lips where your necklace is close."

I would've been asleep by the time the song was over, normally, but the need I felt to hear his angelic voice was immense. Edward's breath on my cheek soothed me, taking away my worries as my mind sank slowly toward oblivion. Then, in the same, sweet silence I had heard years earlier in seventh grade, he spoke:

"Bella."

"Hmmm?"

"Let's run away together."

* * *

**And that was chapter two. Now, I have cookies for my lovely reviewers, who rock my sock drawer.**

**EdwardCullensOneTrueLove: (: They really get along well, don't they? And in that one video on , Robert was so checking Kristen out! He was just staring at her and stroking his chin with the funniest look on his face. **

**lightssoclear: Ha. Don't worry, I repeat myself a lot. It's one of the problems I have when I write stuff. Thanks, though! That's nice of you. I try not to make my stories shallow where just actions are the focus. Emotions are something I try to capture.**

**cookiemonsterks: You have the coolest username. Ever. Cookie Monster rocks the cookie jar, doesn't he? Thanks. (: Usually, it's the emotions and aftermath that I try to focus on. Well, always, actually. They're the important part. It kind of bothers me when it's just the graphic stuff that people focus on, y'know? And the flashbacks; I was afraid people were going to be all: "Geeze, Twitch. Calm down on it. No need to go all in depth like that!" So thanks for that support, too! Oh, and how do you get the accent over the e in cliche? I feel so retarded when I type it and it's all boring looking.**

**Cullen Of Random Funkiness.: Thanks. Of course I'll keep writing this--it has a plotline that I like, which doesn't happen often for me. Skipping is wonderful. So is singing. Together, they rule the Earth.**

**whatsherface-ice: Umm... I know? Is that a good thing? Sorry, I'm crazy slow.**

**orangemice311: Why, thankyou. I try my hardest.**

**Lucybye: (: Thanks. It's nice to know that I can actually reach someone like I intended to. Emotions are just running wild in this story, huh? And I'm a sucker for poetry.**

**vampiro-amor: That's really nice of you. Thanks for the compliment! Yeah, the song's something that really helps set the mood and depth, huh?**

**evil is just easier: Thank you!**

**FolsomBoogie: It was something that just kind of popped into my head, and then I started typing about it. Thanks. (:**

**blackmoonlight606: Thank you! Here's the next chapter, and there'll be more to come.**

**gatorzgurl07: Why, thankyou! That's a very big compliment--I've never actually done fanfiction before. It's really great to know that you feel like that about the story.**

**Sunny90050: Thanks! Feels like I'm saying that a lot today. The game's something I like, too. Originally, it wasn't going to be too important, then I realized that the game means so much more when you dig deep inside of it. Now, I realize, it's kind of essential.**

**Twilightgrrl5: Wow, the song really does fit well! Really well! Thank you, and yeah. Bittersweet, isn't it? That sounds like a good plan, but how the hail do you message people? (:**

**Andrazuria: Thanks!**

**So, thank you _so_ much to everyone who reviewed! Let's let the criticism and other stuff flow from your keyboard. Make sure to tell me what you thought, whether you liked it, hated it, or thought about patterned quilts when reading. Flames accepted, of course. **

**Stay tuned for chapter three, which will take a while to get out. The parental units have a busy schedule planned.**


	3. Chapter Three: Just Say the Word

**Okay, sorry chapter three took me so long. We've been doing a crazy amount of major cleaning in my house lately, so the computer's been non-accessible every time I've had work to do.**

**Hm... I can't think of anything else to say, now. And sorry I was so vague with the age thing--I didn't think about it. To answer everyone's questions, they're both seventeen.**

**Oh, song inspirations! Well, my iPod's charging right now--for the third time in three days--so I'm searching around on youtube. Depending on where I leave off on this chapter, "Runaway," by Cartel, sounds good, and so does "Miserable at Best," by Mayday Parade. Gahh! It's so hard to choose songs. I listen to pretty much every kind of music there is, and I haven't even gotten a tenth of what I listen to included in here! **

**Again, I've got to apologize for something. So far, everything's been in Bella's point of view. I plan on doing Edward's, just not right now.**

**Anyway, here we go with chapter number three.**

**BPOV**

My breath caught. My pulse thundered in my ears. The whole world began to tremble as I pondered the possibilities, wondering why I'd never encountered such a solution before.

"Bella?"

Air dragged through my lips, but I wasn't able to respond. Edward grew slightly frantic at my unresponsive state, putting one hand behind my head and lifting me up slightly off the bed.

"Bella! What's the matter?"

"Oh, Edward!" I managed to gasp. "Nothing's the matter. I've just never... never even thought about it before." My eyes turned to his, searching hungrily. "It makes so much sense."

"So..." he trailed off, brushing a strand of hair away from my sweat-covered forehead. "What _do_ you think, then?"

For a moment, I was silent in thought. On one hand, there was nothing to leave behind. On the other hand... Well, Edward needed to graduate to even think about becoming a doctor. But, to suggest something as huge as this, he must have really put out some thought. "Yes. Let's run away."

He breathed a sigh of relief and kissed my forehead, asking "When will we leave?"

"Soon," I whispered, my words sounding like mush. "As quickly as possible."

"We're going to have to make plans. Serious ones--" he began, but I cut him off. Just in case, I needed to make sure that he had really thought this through.

"Edward."

"Yes?"

"Are you sure _you _want to do this?" I asked. "I mean, I have next to no future, but you, on the other hand, have a whole life ahead of you."

"I can't imagine my future without you."

"But your plans, Edward. Your plans. You were going to go to college, medical school, become a doctor..." I was babbling, now. I needed something to shut me up. "This would ruin all of--" Now, however, _he_ interrupted _me._

"Bella."

"What?"

"Go to sleep. You look like you're going to pass out." Oh. He was right, I probably should get to bed now. My eyelids felt like lead.

"Okay." I snuggled into his chest, and he wrapped his strong arms around me securely, nuzzling his nose into my hair.

"Don't I get a goodnight kiss?" I whispered to him, tilting up my face to him. Edward chuckled and crushed his lips gently to mine in that familiar, careful way. When he pulled away, we exchanged quiet "I love you"s, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, I felt like crap. My throat was gritty and soar from vomiting, I hadn't been able to take a shower in twenty-four hours, and every bone in my body was screaming from last night's torture. The up side was that I wasn't sick anymore. Maybe it had just been a short bug. **(A/N: Or was it? Ha. I'm kidding. I don't actually know yet, but it's leaning towards "it was just a bug." Internal damage isn't too much fun.)**

I opened my eyes and groaned, twisting in Edward's arms carefully to see if he was awake. And there he was, my personal Adonis, propped up on one elbow with one hand on my stomach and the other on my waist. He smiled at me. "Good morning, sunshine."

"Morning," I muttered, then groaned. "Ugh. I need a shower."

Edward chuckled. "Go ahead and take one. Tanya's not back yet."

He released me and I got up sluggishly, heading towards the bathroom with my eyes half-closed. Walking was like living hell. Maybe Edward and I could stay home from school.

I slipped out of my clothes and peered at myself in the full-length mirror with a sinking feeling; I was so ugly. My legs were too bony, my cheeks to sunken. I needed to gain some weight, but those weren't the real problems. Hideous bruises discolored my skin along with an assortment of welts, burns, and a few other marks left from a few imaginative punishments with Gabe. Instantly, my hands went up to my face and I turned around, stepping into the steaming water and letting it relax my muscles; it did help quite a bit with my physical feelings, but emotionally...

Every time I looked down I winced. Why the hell did Edward want me? I was tainted, plain in the face and ugly in the body. Nothing about me was good enough for him, nor up to what his standards should be. Girls fawned over him constantly at school, yet he remained completely oblivious, always claiming that he loved me. But how could he? It was impossible. I didn't deserve him, as messed up as I was. Before I knew it, the tears welled up in my eyes and spilled over onto my cheeks to join the hot water. I was still crying as I got out of the shower and wrapped up gingerly, trying to avoid adding too much pressure to any of my wounds.

Once I was dressed in my stashed clothes, I wandered toward the delicious aroma of bacon and toast. No eggs, though. Edward knew I didn't like eggs. Sure enough, there he was in the kitchen, just as glorious as ever with the used toaster tucked under one arm. He looked up at me with a smile, which quickly faded when he saw my tears. Before I could blink twice, Edward was at my side, hands gripping me gingerly.

"Bella? What's wrong? What hurts?" His eyes locked onto mine.

"Nothing. I'm fine." My voice was painfully pathetic.

"You're a terrible liar," he whispered, pulling me into a quick embrace before going back to gazing at me. "Bella, please. Just tell me what's wrong."

I couldn't stand to look at those smoldering golden eyes. Ducking into his chest, I began to sob through my words. "It's just... I mean, why _me, _Edward? Why?" A shaky breath dragged through my lips. "You could have anyone you wanted, but you choose to stay with _me. _It doesn't make sense."

He sighed into my hair, clutching me close to his body. I breathed in deeply, unable to get enough of his delicious scent. "Bella, Bella," Edward murmured. "Shh... Calm down, love. Good." He pressed a finger under my chin, forcing me to look at him. "Now, listen to me. Just listen for a moment. You're _everything_ to me, Bella. My existence revolves around you. You're beautiful, intelligent, funny... anything I could ever wish for. I love you, Bella, and only you."

I didn't buy it, but nodded anyway, kissing him passionately on the lips through my stupid, traitorous tears that I couldn't seem to stop. The whole time, he held me and tried to soothe me, seeming to forget that we had school to attend to. Maybe he just thought I was still sick. Whatever it was, it didn't matter as he laid me back down onto the bed and held me tightly, beginning to sing gently into my ear. **(A/N: "Miserable at Best," by Mayday Parade. Lovely song. Link on profile.")**

_"Katie, don't cry  
I know you're trying your hardest  
And the hardest part is letting go  
Of the nights we share  
Ocala is calling  
And you know it's haunting  
But compared to your eyes  
Nothing shines quite as bright  
And when we look to the sky  
It's not mine, but I want it."_

Then, to my frustration, he stopped, obviously waiting for me to continue the song.

_"So let's not pretend like you're alone tonight  
I know he's there  
And you're probably hanging out and making eyes  
While across the room he stares  
I'll bet he gets the nerve to walk the floor  
And ask my girl to dance  
She'll say yes, because these words were never easier  
For me to say, or her to second guess  
But I guess that I can live without you  
But without you I'll be miserable at best."_

I had rushed through my lines a bit, and Edward knew it, but right now his angelic voice was all I wanted to hear.

_"You're all that I hoped I'd find in every single way  
And everything I could give  
Is everything you couldn't take  
Cause nothing feels like home  
You're a thousand miles away  
And the hardest part of living  
Is just taking breaths to stay  
Cause I know I'm good for something  
I just haven't found it yet  
But I need it."_

Crap. My turn again.

_"So let's not pretend like you're alone tonight  
I know he's there  
And you're probably hanging out and making eyes  
While across the room he stares  
I'll bet he gets the nerve to walk the floor  
And ask my girl to dance  
She'll say yes, because these words were never easier  
For me to say, or her to second guess  
But I guess that I can live without you  
But without you I'll be miserable at best."_

_Edward began his set of lines, now, his fingers_ trailing along the line of my jaw.

_"And this will be the first time in a week  
That I'll talk to you and I can't speak  
It's been three whole days since I've had sleep  
Cause I dream of his lips on your cheek  
And I got the point that I should leave you alone  
But we both know that I'm not that strong  
And I miss the lips that made me fly."_

On that last line, he leaned down and kissed me gently, afterwards moving his head to my chest as I replied.

_"So let's not pretend like you're alone tonight  
I know he's there  
And you're probably hanging out and making eyes  
While across the room he stares  
I'll bet he gets the nerve to walk the floor  
And ask my girl to dance  
She'll say yes, because these words were never easier  
For me to say, or her to second guess  
But I guess that I can live without you  
But without you I'll be miserable  
And I can live without you  
But without you I'll be miserable  
And I can live without you  
Oh, without you I'll be miserable at best_."

Then, without warning, Edward's mouth was on mine, moving with a passion that I'd never known him to unleash in front of me. This continued for several minutes, and then my hand moved to undo a button of his shirt, startling both himself and me. Surprisingly, though, he let me continue, unlike the other times I had made advances like this. The shirt was off of him, soon, and he began to tug at the hem of _my_ shirt, pushing it up inch by inch, leaving a burning trail of kisses on my stomach. Soon, that was over my head, Edward's cool fingers drawing out the process of finding my bra clasp.

At that moment, however, the sound of the front door opening and a very hungover Tanya stumbling around broke the moment. Hurriedly, we both put our clothes back on, our faces flushed with embarrassment. The two of us looked like we were from the movies, even if my looks didn't exactly fit the setting. It was surprisingly, kind of funny, and I found myself holding back giggles. Edward caught my eye, and soon he was suppressing his own laughter as Tanya's cursing continued outside.

I slipped under Edward's bed and lay still, Edward himself sitting just above me, rifling the pages of a book; a medical one, no doubt. We stayed like that until the shower turned on, and then Edward pulled me out and up.

"Let's go," he whispered over the sound of the running water, practically carrying me out of the room.

The moment we had navigated through the apartment and out the door, we cracked up laughing. I don't know why, but it was just funny for some reason. We were falling all over each other as we stumbled out of the building, gasping for breath while we clung, both doubled over, to each other.

"Hell, Edward," I chuckled. "Tanya probably would have been proud of you."

**And so we conclude chapter three.**

**Gahh. I know it's the worst out of all the chapter so far. Sorry! I just didn't concentrate on it as much, and my muse was a little low.**

**The next one might be a bit boring and just as short--maybe even a bit shorter. It's about them starting to plan their escape., maybe. Depending on how I feel. Forgive me if I don't go too in depth.**

**Erghhhh. So, sorry for all the mess-ups in this chapter. I know it kind of sucked, and you guys deserve better. I think I just needed to get how Bella feels about herself out there in the open.**

**Alrighty, guys. Chapter four's coming soon!**

**Oh, and I had to change the rating, sorry!**


	4. Chapter Four: If Weakness Is a Wound

**So Here we go with Chapter Four. (:**

**This one's most likely to be short and maybe a bit vague, but, according to things that my brain's telling me, there are a few details you'll have to find out later.**

**Erghhh. So, the music inspiration for this would be... Hold on a sec, let me think. We'll go with "Heels Over Head," by Boys Like Girls. Maybe a dash of something else, too, if I find something on my iPod. I'll write it at the ending of the chapter--and this one's mood is still undetermined...**

**Oh, and you're probably wondering why in hell I write things like "I think the song for this chapter will be..." and other stuff like that. Just to clear it up, I just have the major (literally, just the major major ones) details planned out. Chapter by chapter, though, and the ending, I have no clue. There are so many songs that I love and that I want to put in here, I can't just decide for sure on the spot which one I want to pick for things.**

**Mmmm. While I'm writing this, my brains are really scattered. I just got my copy of The Host, so I'm reading and typing at the same time and really hiked up. And you're going to see a few things from the books in here, besides characters; like Bella's injury from her birthday, except not under the same circumstances. Excpect other things like that.**

**To CaraMia: Ha. I totally agree. I started to type a version where they had things all planned out, but then I realized that was no fun and that _I _don't really know how the real world works and I was really going to jack stuff up. And besides, they've got to meet the cullens somehow.**

**So, now we present chapter number four.**

* * *

**T**wo hours later, we were sitting in a small cafe sipping on some Italian coffee that Edward told me was supposed to be the best in the world. Honestly, I had nearly gagged on the first sip; how the hell could Edward want to drink this stuff?

"Geeze, Edward," I gasped, swallowing a bitter mouthful. "This is disgusting!"

He laughed at the expression on my face, with my nose all wrinkled up and my eyes half-closed. "Well," he chuckled "At least you tried something new."

"Ugh," I spat, and stuck my tongue out to wipe it on a napkin. My attempts to rid my mouth of the after taste were wasted, so Edward dashed quickly to the counter to obtain a bottle of water. He handed it to me, and I drank greedily, still grimacing. "You have the strangest taste in food, you know that?"

"I beg your pardon," he sniffed in mock offense. "My taste in food is simply _refined, _unlike your own."

"'_R_e_fined_?'" I snorted. "Yes, Macaroni with oysters, potato chips, and mustard is just the _height_ of elegance these days."

"Oh, ha ha, Bella." Edward hooked his foot around my chair and pulled it beside his. "Besides, that really is delicious. You should try it some time."

"No, thank you."

"Oh, you're such a baby sometimes," he scolded me, but wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Now, concerning our plans, we're going to have to come up with some money, somehow."

"Renee left me a bit," I said carefully. "And some from when my grandparents were alive; birthdays, Christmas, stuff like that. Not to mention my college fund." No need to mention that it was miniscule; Gabe wasn't a big fan of college. He told me I could get either "get an amazing scholarship or get out and get a job."

"Same here, except my grandparents died before I was born," Edward put in. "My college fund is pretty--"

"No," I cut in. "No way we're touching _that_ money. You're going to college; I don't care if it takes ten years. You're going to get there eventually." I was adamant, and I guess he could see that. He sighed and held up his hands in defeat.

"Fine," he said. "But if things get bad, we're going to use it."

"Okay," I reluctantly agreed. "Now, where will we go?"

"Vegas?"

"So I can become a showgirl? No, thanks."

He laughed. "Cincinnati?"

"I love Ohio, but somewhere a bit less baseball-oriented."

For a moment, Edward thought, a tiny frown of concentration wrinkling his forehead. "Seattle?"

Now, it was my turn to think. It sounded very reasonable, but it also felt just... right, I guess. "It sounds good; very good. But it's awfully far away."

"I'm sure we've got enough money to buy a plane ticket."

"But that would make us too easy to find."

He had to concentrate for a moment to conjure up a solution. "We can take the train or something halfway there. Then, we can get to an airport and fly the rest of the way."

"And once we get there? We don't have a place to stay; we're not even legal yet!"

Edward smiled and pulled me closer. "Quit being such a pessimist, Bella. We'll come up with something."

It was about an hour after school got out that Edward dropped me off at my apartment building. I didn't think it was such a good idea for him to come inside; Gabe didn't know much about Edward besides his name and that he was basically my only friend, and I didn't want anyone ratting that I had been with him after school to my father. Good thing Gabe didn't get home till late.

I twisted the knob of my front door, walked inside, and froze.

Gabe was standing not three feet away from me. He had a water glass in one hand, which he scrutinized while he spoke to me.

"Your school called me today," he said quietly. "They wanted to know if you were sick." **(A/N: I'm not actually sure if they do that in most schools; they do it in mine to make sure that you're not skipping. Our school population is less than that of Bella's in Twilight. And to feel this part of the chapter, read a bit slowly.)** He paused, and turned his eyes slowly to me. "Shut the door, Bella."

I shut it.

"Now, come here," he ordered in that horrible, calm tone. _Oh, God. Oh, god. Oh, please,_ I pleaded silently. It had never been like this before, and I'd gotten in unbelievably huge trouble for things miniscule compared to this.

But I was frozen, rooted to the spot in horror, so Gabe took a step towards me instead.

"Bella. Come. Here." His mouth framed each word with precision, like he thought I was mentally impaired or something.

I hated to do it, but I forced my leg to move forward, inch by inch, fighting tears and hyperventilation while I tried to stay calm.

Faster than I could have imagined, Gabe's hand lashed out and found the back of my neck, pulling my forehead too close to his for comfort. A small sob tore from me, which I tried to stiffle as best I could. My father looked me in the eyes for a moment, and tightened his grip to the point that I was practically choking on air from pain. The sensation was horrible.

"Was there a _reason_ you weren't at school, Bella?"

I didn't answer; I was still too preoccupied with my attempt not to shriek.

"Damn it, _answer me_!" The water glass in Gabe's hand was flung to the floor in fury, smashing into a thousand little pieces with the force of the throw. And there it was; that small, stupid, traitorous cry was sprung from my lips as he pushed me away, only to have my chance at freedom ruined as he threw me onto the floor. I sobbed freely now; the glass cut into my body in so many places, it just hurt so much...

Oh, God, I pleaded internally, curling up into a desperate ball as the blows fell. Oh, God, please make it stop.

* * *

**EPOV**

I was worried, very worried; Bella should have shown up an hour ago at the bottom of the fire escape.

Even worse, though, was the fact that I knew that my fear was completely justified. Anything could have happened to her. Anything.

But I didn't need to be hasty. If Gabe were to catch me, then Bella could quite literally die, and it would be my fault entirely. I was determined to be patient tonight.

Another hour passed... Another half hour.

It was getting too dark. I needed to check on her, at least, see if Gabe was asleep. But what if Bella just didn't want to come over tonight, had too much to think about...? My uncertanity was maddening. About everything but the love of my life I could be positive about. Whenever I made a decision, I could tell if it was right or wrong. But with Bella...

I began to quickly and quietly ascend the fire escape, counting the floors carefully until I reached the apartment I was looking for. As soon as I lifted the always partially cracked window, the sound of thunderous snores drowned most everything out. _Yes!_ Gabe must have already been asleep. What, then, was keeping Bella? She wasn't in her room...

Sliding under the glass, I crept from past her bed and door, out into the hallway that led to the kitchen and living room. There was no sound of her. What if she had sneaked out without me knowing? Had she gotten that desperate?

As soon as the kitchen was in view, I froze. My heart was almost torn to pieces by what I saw.

Bella--_my_ Bella--lay on the floor, her head cradled in her arms, shaking in terror and pain. All around her were scattered fragments of glass, some of them apparently beneath her or possibly even digging into her skin. That much was obvious from the blood that stained bits of her clothing. It wasn't life threatening, but it was still enough to be qualified as horrible.

"Oh, Bella," I whispered. Over her erratic breathing and muffled sobs,she didn't seem to hear me, so I carefully picked my way through the sharp edges and crouched beside her, laying a hand gently on her shoulder. She jumped and cried out, the movement obviously causing her pain. "Bella, love, it's just me."

"Edward?" Her face turned towards me, and I saw that her arms had mostly protected it, save for a few small scratches on the sides of her jaw. "Edward, please... It just hurts so much... I need to... I just need... Oh, God," she whimpered.

I knew what she needed instantly, and whispered a quiet warning to her. "This might hurt a bit," I said, knowing that it would cause her more than just "a bit" of pain. Surely enough, on the first movement, she cried out loudly, Gabe's snores alarmingly stuttering for a moment before developing a steady rythm again. Again, I helped to pull her up as best I could as she sobbed into my shoulder, and I mean horrible, heart-broken sobs. This was terrible beyond belief. It wasn't fit for the lowliest animal. The fury, at that point, set in as usual, the hatred I felt toward Gabe urging me to grab an axe and hack him to bits in the slowest, most painful way possible.

It took a while, but I reassured Bella that everything would be fine once we got back to my apartment; her injuries could be dealt with there. However, there was one thing I didn't tell her.

We were going to leave. Tonight.

So I laid her onto her bed gently and she curled up again, shuddering in pain, as I grabbed a bag from under her bed and placed a few items of clothing and other necessities inside. Once I was done with that, I pulled her out onto the fire escape and descended without caring how much noise I made, just wanting to place as much distance between her and Gabe as possible. He was never going to get _near_ her again. Ever.

I half-carried her to my apartment, marveling at how thin she was and how much weight she really needed to gain. Her poor physical condition was alarming. I bit my lip as I surveyed her as she lay on my bed, shaking. There was one cut that ran from the crease of her elbow to her wrist that was really bothering me. It needed to be stitched up. Immediately. But what could I...? Oh. My father, he had given me his first-aid kit, and I knew I had it around here somewhere.

I scanned the room frantically and found it tucked away beneath my bed, right after a few other boxes containing all the scrappy medical equipment I'd scavenged over the years. For the pain, I'd decided, I would use Percocet. It would make her a little high, but it would work. Hesitantly, I gave her some, reassuring her that it would help a thousand times over. **(A/N: I have no clue how to handle medicine or anything like that. No attacks for messups here.)**

From there, I peeled off her sticky shirt and then her jeans, focusing on only the task at hand. There were cuts in many places; mostly just small ones, but a select few would need special attention. I glanced up at Bella, finding that she was already slipping away from the realm of feeling. Then, her arm was stretched out toward me as I picked out the glass from the wound, stitching it up from there as best I could. Never having performed such a task before, there was no way to be sure I had done it properly. At least it had been cleaned in the professional manner. It wouldn't get infected.

For hours I labored over her broken form, sometimes just tenderly caressing the bruises on her neck or arms, unable to believe someone would want to harm such a sweet, innocent thing as Bella. When night was deep, my eyelids couldn't hold themselves open any longer, and I covered her body with a blanket and set the alarm clock, falling asleep almost instantly once I was curled up beside her.

But just before everything went dark, I wondered how; how were we going to make this getaway? What would we lose along the way? What would we gain?

* * *

**Okay, Okay. I know. That was kind of a sucky chapter. I didn't concentrate on forming the words at all, I just kind of typed them quickly. I know you guys want them to get away already, but that's coming up soon. And if nighttime seems a bit long, then, well... I don't really know, I just have to squeeze things in.**

**Sorry for the crappiness. Everything's crazy today. **

**Oh, and I found another song. "I'm Not Alright," by Sanctus Real. The lyrics are very Bella. And sorry about my lack of knowledge with medical junk (well, not junk, seeing as medicine is insanely important, but, well.. you know what i mean.) I try to stay clear of hospitals. They freak me out hardcore.**

**Ugh. Again a sorry for being pretty shitty at Edward's point of view.**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter. Give me opinions and ideas. Happily, I _think_ I know what's going to happen in the next chapter. Remember, I just have the details so far.**

**Now, Read and Review, people, or I'm not giving you another chapter.**


	5. Chapter Five: On Top of the World

**Gahh. Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I've been spending the last lots of days reading and rereading _The Host._ That book was incredibly amazing--Stephenie Meyer is the best. And I've been trying to read the three other books I put down to get at _The Host._ I might disappear again soon--I have another amazing book getting shipped to me.**

**Speaking of Stephenie Meyer, I haven't disclaimer-ed anything in a while.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, because she's cool like that.**

**See? Everything's chill.**

**Mmmm. Seeing as my thoughts are focused on humans resisting alien forces, this will be another choppy chapter. Buuut, I love you guys and I'll try to do my best. And when the heck are they going to put a category up for _The Host?_**

**And this is incredibly important: There's a reason this is a fictional story, besides the fact it obviously never happened. I'll say this once, and only once; I. Do. Not. Know. Anything. About. New York. Got it? I mean N O T H I N G. Never been there. Hell, I've never been within two hundred miles of the place. You New Yorkers--or people who know good shit about the state--don't freak out, don't get all know-it-all-y on me, like "actually, that's WAY too far from the edge of the state to be possible," or "the train doesn't go there, sweetie" or anything like that. NO comments on this lack of knowledge, got it? Andn I mean it, not even anything that says "there's no mountain, lol." No flames, NOTHING. Also, I don't know anything about Seattle. I'm kind of U.S. retarded, even though I'm an all-American brat. I'll be making little places up. Like the mountain. We're going to be moving it in our minds from where it already "exists" to the place where I'm putting it, got it?**

**Music inspiration: obviously, "On Top of the World," by Boys Like Girls.**

**So here we go. **

* * *

**EPOV**

The beeping of the alarm clock came not long after my eyes closed, or so it felt. With a groan, I rolled over, checking the time. The little green numbers flashed disconcertingly. It took me a minute to figure out what they were saying. Oh--2:17 AM. Would the subway still be running? I hoped so. Bella needed to get out of this city.

Just as my hand hit the power button, Bella's eyes fluttered open. The innocence in them overwhelmed me, insantly refreshing the already present desire to protect her.

"Edward?" she murmured, wincing. "It's still dark out. Something wrong with your alarm?"

I stroked her cheek. "No, love." My tone was reassuring. "We're going to leave. Everything's going to be okay, now."

The look of confusion in her eyes made her look younger, more like the little girl I used to know.

"But I thought--"

I cut her off. "You're not going back there, Bella."

She seemed to consider this for a moment, and I braced myself for her usual stubbornness. To my surprise, however, she sighed and sat up groggily, linking her hand with mine. "Alright. We'd better get a move on."

Then it hit me; she wanted to leave, badly. No matter how much guilt she felt for leaving behind her father--a horrible man, but her father nonetheless--she wanted to get as far away from this city as possible. She _needed_ to.

"Your bag's by the closet. There's not much in it, but it should do," I murmured, lifting my own slightly better-packed duffel bag onto the bed. "I'll go grab some food from the kitchen. Whatever we get should last us until the next store."

"'Kay," Bella muttered sleepily, sorting through the things I'd picked out in my haste. "I'll be right there."

My footsteps were quiet in the hallway, but there was no Tanya to hear the gentle thuds, like almost every other night. She was always gone. Didn't she care at all? About me? What about when I left? As much as I didn't care about the woman, the way I wished she loved me never changed. In short, I wanted a mother, but I would never get one.

I sighed as I grabbed whatever I could off of various shelves and containers. We never really had much to eat in the house, even though I did the shopping regularly. Tanya wasn't one much for providing the necessary funds for shopping for anything but clothes, booze, and cigarettes. At least we had sleeping bags. I grabbed those quickly from the garage.

As soon as Bella emerged from the room, wincing with every alternate step, we headed towards the door and out into the cool night air. The nearest station wasn't far, and the subway could take us to the edge of the city. From there, we could walk to and hide in the mountain. **(A/N: Remember, people. FICTIONAL.) **Thankfully, it wasn't far, located in one of those "I-can't-believe-there's-so-much-nothing-in-New-York" areas. On the other hand, we would have to do a fair bit of climbing to find a thorough hiding place.

We were on the subway, soon, surrounded by druggies, late-night partiers, and a number of other odd people. I could tell Bella was uncomfortable with our company, so I pulled her onto my lap and let her curl up into my chest. One man in particular seemed very interested in us, and as soon as I saw where his gaze was directed on Bella's body, I shot him a glare. He looked away quickly, grinning sickly.

When we got to our stop, I hurried us, eager to get away from the gaping man. It nearly sent a shudder through me to think about what some people seemed to want to do to Bella, how they wanted to take advantage of her. I was glad that I was with her.

She hesitated outside of the train station, glancing back at me.

"Just down that street and straight for a few blocks," I whispered. "Then, it's not far to the mountain. We'll camp out there for the night."

She nodded, huddling into my side. Odd, I thought, how Bella was unusually quiet tonight.

She semed so... frightened.

* * *

**BPOV**

I was scared.

My heart was pounding so loud by the time we reached our campsite that I was surprised Edward couldn't hear it. The contents of my stomach squirmed uncomfortably. _Please_, I thought. _Please don't make me throw up again..._

Not only was that a problem, but Edward seemed to notice how uncomfortable I was. I don't know how; I had hardly done so much as winced in pain during our ascent, though I was in what could easily qualify as agony. Oh, well. I'd get used to it.

We weren't too high up the mountain, but high enough to have a nice view of the city before us. I didn't really have the time or the interest to appreciate it, at the moment. Once my sleeping bag was rolled out, I flopped down onto it with a huff, my breathing heavy.

Cool fingers touched my arm.

"How are you?" Edward murmured, and I could hear the worry behind the careful calm in his voice.

"Fine," I whispered back. "Just tired."

He surveyed me. Whatever he saw, I highly doubt it eased his mind. "I shouldn't have made you come up here."

"You did the right thing," I reassured him, lifting my head to receive a gentle kiss.

Edward gave a small smile and stroked my hair, his expression unfathomable. "You should sleep," he told me, pulling away. "Your eyelids must feel like they weigh a ton."

I laughed, and said, "Good night, Edward."

"Good night, Bella. Sweet dreams."

He didn't lay next to me or go to his sleeping bag, as I had anticipated. Instead, he walked heavily over to the edge of the cliff, about twenty yards away from where I was standing. Even dully silhouetted in the moonlight, Edward was beautiful. I felt a pang of sadness. Never would I be enough. Never...

Edward sighed. It wasn't a sound that could be easily determined as happy, sad, frustrated--anything. I tried to analyze it in my head. Perhaps there was a hint of relief? Maybe there had been a note of exhaustion. It was difficult to tell.

Gingerly and as quietly as I could, I stood and walked to Edward's side, touching his arm briefly before nestling into his chest.

"I thought you were going to sleep," he murmured into my hair, planting a kiss atop my head.

"Can't."

For some time, we stood there in silence, just content to gaze at the city below us with varying emotions. It was a place I had learned to hate, but to love all the same. It was the only home I had ever known, but it had been both my blessing and a curse.

But I could make a new home, find other blessings. It would be much simpler now that I was free.

My breath caught.

Free.

_Free._

I couldn't believe it. After seventeen years, I was finally going to make my own decisions, be my own person. No longer was I ruled by strict curfews, tentative guidelines and constant changes. I was _free_. That one word summed it up, made my heart soar high above the clouds. It thumped wildly in my chest almost as if it were yearning to break free, possibly to leap into Edward's arms. Tears were stinging my eyes; tears of happiness, of joy. Again and again in my head, I repeated the sentence.

"Bella?" Edward's voice was gentle. "Bella, what's wrong? Why are you crying."

Unknowingly, some of the moisture in my eyes had spilled onto my cheeks. I dabbed at the tears but smiled up at Edward, hugging him tightly.

"Edward, we're free. We're really, honestly _free_." More happy tears leaked out.

He relaxed. "Yes, love," he laughed. "We are."

I giggled in response. "I feel like I could fly, right now, with you here. I've never been so happy."

The wind tugged at my hair, ruffling Edward's too. He crushed his lips against mine once more, holding me tightly. I never wanted him to let go. Time seem suspended, in that moment. It was simply the two of us, standing right there above everything, looking down on a light-dotted cityscape.

After who knows how long, Edward dragged our sleeping bags nearer to the edge of the cliff. I lay down on mine and Edward wound his arms around me, pulling me against his chest. I loved the feeling. It would help me to sleep. The sensation of... contentment seemed to be suspended around us like some surt of curtain, a veil that, when pulled back, would reveal our private world.

"I love you, Bella."

"I know. I love you, too. More than anything."

Then, I closed my eyes and drifted, cool breezes relaxing my muscles. The last thing I heard before unconciousness came was a beautiful, velvet voice singing into my ear, taking away any traces of physical pain that had remained.

"_Let's spend tonight on the top of the world._

_And we can do anything; we can be _anything_."_

**And so we conclude chapter number five. Again, not exactly my best work--not even close--but not the _worst_ chapter.**

**Gahh. I know it was short, but my time options have gotten really dang limited. Sports, school, more school. Everything's crazy!**

**After you read, REVIEW. REVIEW. REVIEW.**

**I want lots and lots of reviews. I'll be a review whore, m'kay? I just love to know what people think. Flames are accepted, like usual.**

**But give me something, prettypretty please. If you don't review, I'm not putting up another chapter.**


	6. Chapter Six: And Let's Get Away

**Yayyy. Another chapter, in which there will be more fictional junk, because I'm U.S. retarded.**

**I've got to thank everyone who was really nice about my "disability" involving the geography of the country I happen to be a citizen of. You guys are really helpful. Thank you times nine trillion and seventy three.**

**Hokay. If you plan on reading this chapter, you'd better plan on reviewing. I'm going to try and see if I can make a hundred reviews (ppfffft. I know. longshot, but hey.) as of this chapter, so review.review.review. If you subscribe (or have subscribed) to the story, prettypretty please tell me what you think. Flames are accepted, if you want to freak. I might get mad back, though.**

**The inspiration for this chapter would be "Burn this City," by Cartel. And "Butterflies and Hurricanes," by Muse. Oh, and for future reference--and I know some of you might want to hate me for this--either Bella or Edward is going to get hurt in a chapter sometime kinda sorta soon. Dramadramadrama, I know. This is just a dramatic story. You'll see why, though. So...**

**Q U E S T I O N: Who should get hurt, Bella or Edward? And what should happen? Hit by a car, bus, fall of a first story balcony? _Anything._**

**Now, to _answer_ a few questions (they might just confuse you, though.):**

**1. No. Gabe's not gone for good.**

**2. Bella and Edward are SEVENTEEN. I need to make that very clear. Both of their birthdays, however, are approaching veryvery quickly. I'm going to pretend that their birthdays are very close together in September, though.**

**3. They're planning on going to Seattle. Things could get twisted around. Hell, _I_ don't know if they're going to end up in Forks.**

**Sorry for that incredibly long and boring speech.**

**And a final warning: This is a chapter that shows how the pair get to Seattle. It's not really imperative to the story and not particularly interesting, but not everything is. Sorryyy. **

**Now, here's chapter number six. (I think?)**

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**BPOV**

We had been on the road for two weeks.

Okay, so "on the road" wasn't technically an accurate description. We'd been hiding out a lot in whatever abandoned buildings we could find, and even more often, we slept outside. Bug bites dotted my skin, but the disgusting little insects seeemed to avoid Edward for the most part. I can't say I didn't envy him. His skin remained as smooth and pale as ever. There wasn't a splotch of angry red to mar his beauty.

It was about that time that the first poster showed up.

Edward and I had been walking through a subway terminal, minding our own business and keeping our heads down when we saw it; just a grainy black and white photo of a seventeen year old boy, printed on bright yellow paper. Next to it was a flyer identical in layout. Just the picture and information were different.

"Edward," I whispered, tugging on his sleeve. "Look."

He swore, and pulled up his hood. I followed suit, strongly suspecting that we looked like a pair of amateur terrorists.

"We need to get out of here," Edward hissed into my ear. "Quickly."

With that, he led me outside, putting a protective arm around my shoulder. His eyes darted about the scene, checking to see if we had been recognized.

"Damn," he growled.

We ended up in an alley not far from the station, where he pressed my back against the wall and turned around as he searcied for any signs of pursuit. He relaxed eventually, but pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, which was obviously a sign of great stress.

"That was close," I whispered, hugging my chest. "What do we do now?"

"A plane. Take a plane as fast as we can to Seattle and pray to God airport security doesn't look to deep. If we manage to get that far, we get train tickets to Vegas to lead anyone away from us." He put one hand against the wall over me, breathing heavily.

I swallowed. "It's kind of iffy."

"It's all we've got," he responded. "Now, where's the nearest airport?"

"About an hour away, I think."

"We'd better get a move on."

I was dead worried all the way to the airport, and getting increasingly anxious with each passing minute. The time it took to find the building totaled up to two hours, despite my estimated one. It was already getting dark when we arrived.

The woman who was to sell us our tickets took one look at us and raised an eyebrow. In our bedraggled states, I doubted we looked like we could afford a can of soda, much less a ticket to anywhere.

"May I help you?" she asked, her voice unpleasantly nasal.

"We'd like two tickets on the next plane to Seattle, please," Edward replied, his voice cool and calm.

The woman snorted, but lowered her fake fingernails to the keyboard and started clacking away on it. "It leaves in three hours," she informed us. "You got money to pay for it?"

Edward nodded.

"That so, kid? Look. You can't just hop on a plane without paying for it, no matter how young you are. I've seen your sorts come hanging around here, trying to get friendly with people." She leaned forward, sneering. "It's just not gonna happen."

The corner of Edward's mouth pulled up in the hint of a smile. "I understand your frustration, ma'am, but I really do have the money."

Then, to the woman's astonishment, we paid for our tickets in a process that took almost too much time for my nerves to handle. Edward's arm was there, around my shoulders with his hand rubbing soothing circles on my skin, though. Occasionally he would squeeze me closer and dazzle me with one of his crooked smiles.

"What now," I asked tentatively, when we were done.

"Now, we get you something to eat and wait." He kissed the top of my head.

"I'm not hungry," I mumbled, but my stomach cut me off with a low growl. Edward laughed in response and pulled me along.

We sat at a small table near our check-in point, where we ordered Chinese food and ate in silence, side by side. Edward kept up a calm face, but I could see the worry flicker across his features whenever he looked at me. Whenever he did that, I attempted to give him a relaxed smile, but always ended up feeling like I was about to cry. I hated it. I hated this whole mess. Neither of our parents liked us much; so why were they looking for us? For all Gabe cared, I could have drowned and gone to hell. So why bother with finding me?

When I brought it up, Edward sighed.

"I don't think they really had a choice," he replied. "Once the school found out we were missing, they couldn't just say 'Well, that's too bad,' and move on in life. That would be a little suspicious, wouldn't it?"

"Oh." It seemed obvious now that he had pointed it out. "I see."

Edward chuckled, and ruffled my hair playfully before sliding his hand to cup my cheek. I leaned into it, inhaling his scent in several deep breaths. The aroma was impossible to describe, and I had to say I was jealous; no one had the right to look _that_ gorgeous _and _smell that good.

I frowned as his fingers left my face. "What did you do that for?" I complained, reaching with out to snap his hand back up. He was to fast for me, though, instead grabbing the our red plastic tray.

"We need to get back to our gate," he said, smiling. "Come on."

We threw our trash away and trudged slowly back; our systems were too jumpy for sitting around and waiting. When we did finally reach the waiting area, we saw that the seats were vacated, and that the last few people were boarding the plane. That was good, I thought. No delays.

Dutifully, we stood behind a woman and her teenage child, waiting to hand over our tickets for inspection. As the woman stepped onto the ramp, she looked back to hurry up her kid, but her eyes rested briefly on us. She stood, motionless, for a moment, her gaze flickering from me to Edward and then back again. Then, abruptly, she turned sharply and disappeared, pulling along her sullen boy.

"That was close," I whispered, for the second time that day, holding out my ticket.

"Too close," Edward agreed, doing the same. "We're going to have to distance ourselves from her, if we can."

We stepped onto the plane and stored our duffel bags in the overhead compartments. I turned the opposite way from our seats for a moment, and froze. There the woman sat, fussing at her kid about something or other.

"Dammit," Edward hissed, following my gaze. "Damn, damn, damn. The odds are always against us, Bella."

"I'll say," I muttered, my cheeks burning with sudden self-consciousness. "This plane smells like Mexican Food."

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**Gahh! I'm so so so so so so so so so sorry that this chapter took so long to get out! We're getting ready to move right now, so everything's getting kind of crazy. Also, I'm going to be gone for a few days for other moving preparations, so sorry in advance for that.**

**Okay, this was another bad chapter. And very short. So, sorry times thirty-eight! I just had to get another chapter out.**

**Mmmf. REVIEW! You remember my expectations from above. So pretty pretty please review! Flames are accepted. Just review! And make sure to tell me your views on the question above.**


	7. Chapter Seven: Of Keeping Us a Secret

**Okay, Well. This might be another rushed chapter, so sorry about that. Grrr. However, I'm going on a hunormous summer vacation, so I really just have to get this out. (:**

**Music inspiration would be... "Breathing," by Yellowcard, and "Chemistry of a Car Crash," by Shiny Toy Guns. Oh! And "Burn This City," by Cartel, which I might have already used. The title is from the lyrics. ****Yeah. Not much to say, really, except that I'm going to be super duper busy for a while (A.K.A. I'm going to be gone for about eight weeks, but I'll do my best to get chapters out when I can) You guys are the best ever, though.**

**Ahh. but people, we've got to start paying attention! I'm still getting questions about their ages--it's been said that they are SEVENTEEN. Please note that Seventeen. Sorry for misunderstandings. I really have to learn to make myself clearer. (: Oh, and to answer another question, the kid with the woman is a boy. I said that in the last chapter (I think?) though not very thoroughly.**

**Oh, and review! review, review, review, please!fEmmett**

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I released the breath I didn't realized I'd been holding.

The past five hours had been my own personal hell, with the woman constantly watching us from the corner of her eye (I was even too scared to go to the _bathroom_, which didn't help my bladder one bit. I really had to go). One thought kept pulsing through my brain:

_She knows, she knows, she knows._

Not a single piece of my being doubted that fact. We'd never be able to make a clean escape. My heart was heavy with dread, and rapidly sinking.

"Sarah," Edward murmured to me, using my "temporary name." We had to remain as inconspicuous as possible. "We can take off our seatbelts, now." His hand moved to pet my hair as I obliged with shaking fingers.

I stood up behind a businessman retrieving his bag from the overhead storage compartment and tried to walk forward, but realized that the aisle was blocked by several other passengers doing the same. The woman and her child were right beside me, close enough to reach out and touch. I could hardly breathe, but Edward was whispering soothingly into my ear, his breath refreshingly cool in comparison to the stuffy cabin.

At an agonizingly slow pace, we began to make our way forward. Gradually, the woman and her boy got up a few people behind us, watching us with suspicious eyes. I didn't like the way they seemed to follow every move we made.

Once we were off the plane, we ran.

We had no baggage to claim, so we were pretty much ahead of all the passengers. What shocked me, though, was that the woman left her teenager to get the bags and headed toward the information desk. Edward pulled on my hand, urging me forward.

"Come on, Bella. We need to get out of here. Now."

Now, we were running. Edward seemed frantic, his eyes darting around, and I was aching, nearly hyperventilating, and stumbling every three feet. It was only Edward's steady hands that kept me from falling flat on my face.

We gained a few suspicious glances at our fast pace, but I guess people just figured we had a connection to make or something, because they looked away almost as quickly. That, at least, was good, but we'd still have witnesses as to our direction.

At one point, I felt like my bladder was going to explode. I stopped and bent over.

"Edward," I gasped. "I _really_ have to go to the bathroom."

He seemed anxious. "Can't you, you know, hold it?"

"I don't think so," I moaned, wriggling around uncomfortably.

"Go." He pointed towards the nearest restroom. "I'll wait outside."

As quickly as I could, I went, almost forgetting to wash my hands afterwards. My fast, stumbling pace earned me a few stares from the other women. One elderly lady even grumbled at me to slow down, but I ignored her. I grew increasingly frustrated as I wasted thirty precious seconds by going out the wrong exit and standing around, waiting for Edward. Eventually, I figured it out, but my patience was at an end.

Pushing the door open, I ran straight into the arms of an anxious Edward.

"Sorry," I panted. "I accidentally went out the wrong exit..."

"Oh," he replied, but the froze. Then there was that familiar flash of intuition that lit up his golden eyes. "Another exit, you said?" **(A/N: Haha. I know, I know. Just like Bella's plan to get away from Alice and Jasper in Twilight.)**

"Yeah." I raised my eyebrows, not understanding.

"Bella, if that woman told airport security..." He bit his lip, thinking a moment. "Well, they'll be looking for us as a pair. Take the other exit and meet me in the long-term parking lot, alright? I'll be looking for you."

I nodded and breathed in deeply. I could do this, I thought. New York City had to be more complicated than just one airport, right? So, I figured, if I could navigate NYC, then I could navigate a stupid, tricky, insignificant, old-lady infested airport. Right. I could do this.

I let out a strange giggle when I realized Edward had already left, to my horror. Maybe I was going insane. Or maybe I was just slap-happy.

I dashed back into the bathroom, earning even more muttered complaints this time. I was out the other door in seconds, and making my way steadily through the airport, simply reading the signs. I made it to the long-term lot in just a few minutes, then groaned.

The stupid parking space was enormous. I couldn't _believe_ my luck. How was I supposed to find Edward in all of this? I stomped my foot, upset, then screamed.

Someone had just grabbed me by the waist.

I turned, prepared to poke, punch, bite or do whatever I needed to in order to escape. Then I realized that it was just Edward.

"Bella! Would you_ please_ calm down?"

"Don't _scare_ me like that!" I hissed. "Do you have any idea how badly that freaked me out? I thought we'd gotten caught!"

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb. "Let's just go, please?"

We hurried out onto the road, sighing in relief as soon as we were past the park-n-pay machine. Edward gathered me into a tight hug, crushing me gently to his chest.

"We're going to have to keep a lower profile, love," he murmured into the top of my head, kissing my hair gently. "I thought we were done for sure."

"There's still bound to be trouble from that, though," I countered, clinging to him. "We should probably keep going."

"Right you are," he said, ruffling my hair playfully and taking my hand. We began walking, making relatively fast progress. It wasn't long until some of the busier roads were in sight.

The only thing that slowed us down were the times when we were forced to cross roads of busy traffic. At those times, I absolutely despised the circular green light. Edward joked that it didn't seem like I'd actually gone to the bathroom, I was bouncing around so much.

I thought we got lucky when we made it to an already-red traffic light, starting to cross the road without a moment's hesitation. Frustratingly, though, Edward dropped his wallet and had to turn back for it after he paused to appreciate a slick black Mercedes behind a dusty green truck (which I chided him for). The moment he stepped off the sidewalk, though, the light turned.

After that, things happened too quickly.

The driver of the truck hit the gas pedal at the exact moment Edward crouched to retrieve his wallet. He looked up, shocked, as I screamed his name and moved towards him.

The car hit Edward full on, but only just caught he right half of my back.

I didn't notice the pain as I collapsed and cracked my head on the pavement. I didn't hear the astonished gasps around me. All I could think of was my stupidity. It was my fault. I should have stopped him, should have made him wait. No, no, no. Not Edward. It should have been me.

I called out his name again, looking over to see his body lying motionless in the street. There was blood on his cheek due to the nicely-sized cut the car's bent-out-of-shape license plate. The rest of him just looked horribly battered and bruised. Tears spilled over on my cheeks as I screamed out his name again and again, staggering onto all fours to crawl over to him.

"Edward!" I sobbed. "Edward, wake up!" It was probably the dumbest reaction I could have had, but I didn't care. I needed him to be okay. I needed him to smile crookedly at me and pat my head, hug me, anything.

Then, I was aware of a pair of strong arms lifting me up and a horrible tint of black poking at the corners of my vision. I thrashed against my captor and reached out again to Edward, as if he would suddenly jump up and grab me, steal me away.

Then, I was aware of a pair of strong arms lifting me up and a horrible tint of black poking at the corners of my vision. I thrashed against my captor and reached out again to Edward, as if he would suddenly jump up and grab me, steal me away. I was shocked to see a handsome blonde man crouching over him, checking his pulse and measuring his breathing **(A/N: Yayy!) **Briefly, he looked at me. His face was calm.

"He's alive," he reassured me, quieting my hysterics. "He'll be fine with a hospital and a little bit of time." No, not a hospital. No, no, no. We'd be found out for sure. I didn't even _like_ hospitals. I was about to protest when I realized the man wasn't looking at me anymore, but at the person above me.

"Emmett," he said. "Would you please ask Alice and Esme to make room? We have more than enough time to drive them to the hospital.

I looked up, at the person whose arms I currently occupied. He, too, was handsome, with deep brown eyes and dark, curly hair. He simply nodded in response and started to carry me away.

"No!" I shouted weakly. "Put me down! I won't leave him!" I struggled against his iron grasp to no avail. He looked down at me and grinned briefly.

"Carlisle'll have him in the car in just a second," he assured me in a voice that didn't sound right for whispering. He seemed like a loud person, from his muscular build and sweet dimples. I raised my eyebrows, putting other thoughts aside, but he continued. "Just calm down, you'll be fine."

"It's not me I'm worried about," I muttered, but I had barely gotten the words out of my mouth when Emmett, as the man had called him, sat me down on the dark leather of the Mercedes. It was at that point when the pain set in. I gasped, curling myself into a ball and emitting a series of strangled cries. More tears stung my eyes, but I simply scrunched my lids down as hard as I could, just glimpsing the pixie-like, black-haired teenager. I didn't get a very good look at the other passenger, either, but I could make out the carfamel-colored curls as she looked down at me in concern.

The teenager beside me pulled me so that my head was on her lap--trying to make room, I guessed--and I gasped in pain again, though I tried to fight it. I didn't feel anyone slide in next to me, contrary to my expectations. I heard the same deep voice, but louder, this time, and it seemed to be kind of far away...

"I'll take a cab and meet you there, Carlisle," it said. "There's not room for us all."

The man called Carlisle apparently agreed, because moments later the door opened again. I opened my eyes to see the man gently slide Edward to the carpeted floor, trying to give him as much room as possible. Seeing him so... hurt... caused me actual physical pain, deep inside my chest. I winced and shut my eyes again. I couldn't bear the image of the results of my stupidity.

Then, we were off, the Mercedes sliding swiftly forward, moving easily through the traffic.

I didn't care about the car, though. The pain was, well, hurting. Bad. I gasped again and gritted my teeth, trying to fight the darkness eating at the corners of my vision.

The woman with the caramel curls looked back at me, still concerned.

"Just go to sleep, sweetheart," she murmured. I shook my head, but I was losing my internal struggle with the blackness.

The last thing I felt were cool fingers stroking my hair.

But the last thing I said was just one word, but a word that meant so much to me:

"Edward."

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**Wow. So that chapter turned out longer than I expected. It's kind of sloppy and rushed though, sorry. I just get so excited for the good parts.**

**Not the worst I've had, though, so far, so that's good. Constructive criticism is loved, and boy do I need lots. Thanks for all your help so far! You guys are the greatest readers ever.**

**And I want my one hundred reviews! I'm being very review greedy today, sorry. I just love reviews. Especially long ones. Remember, anything that pops into your head! REVIEW!**

**Oh, and just to make this clear--the Cullens are NOT vampires in the story. The cool hands are just, well, cool, you know. **

**And did I say what season it was? Sorry, I'm kind of handicapped in memory. Thanks for putting up with all my weirdness, guys.**

**You rock!**


	8. Author's Note

**Okeydokey, guys.**

**So I'm back from vacation, but I'm moving. Yeah, moving. A whole new country. Hopefully we'll get our computer and internet up soon, so there won't be much of a delay till the next chapter. Maybe not even three days.**

**It is even a possibility to get it up tonight or tomorrow night. I've already written parts of it.**

**Anyway, you guys rule. I'm out for now.**


	9. Chapter Nine: More Than Questions

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So I got quite a few reviews last chapter. Yay! You guys are the best. Ever.

**Gahh. But now, you've got to smack me in the head and say horrible things to me, because, at first, I misspelled Emmett's name. (I know, I know. Shame on me! No pitchforks, please!) But now you've got to give Lupus a hunormous hug and thankyou for correcting my momentary stupidity. I _swear _to you, though, I do usually spell Emmett's name right. I was just being, well, stupid. (:**

**Anyways; musical inspiration for this song would be "Hospital" by the Used**

**And I'm sorry to those of you who are upset with the Cullens not being vampires. It's an all human story, after all, as said in chapter one.**

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My eyelids fluttered. I breathed in deeply.

And then shrieked.

Oh, no. No, no, no. I was in a _hospital._ Even with my eyes closed, I could tell. The smell was the same, always the same, like dead people--washed with _supposedly_ unscented soap--wrapped in layers and layers of gauze.

The second thing to hit me was _why_ I was here.

Oh, dear God, no.

_Edward_, I thought frantically. _Edward!_

I tried to sit up, but immediately regretted it.

The pain was like the aching of the slowly pulsing nerves beneath the black and blue stain of a bruise, but sharper, and multiplied by a hundredfold. The hurt seared across my back, even as I gasped and turned over to bite the disgustingly cottony hospital pillow.

"_Ow,_" I whimpered around the mouthful of fabric.

The pain became bearable after a few minutes, but the smell of the white-washed walls was still driving me crazy. Oh, well. I'd stayed in hospitals for hours on end, before. This shouldn't be too different.

It wasn't just the _smell,_ though--that would be totally irrational. It was the _feel_ of the place. It made my pulse speed up and my fingers twitch, made my eyes dart across every surface.

_Snap out of it_, I told myself. _Find Edward._

Okay. I could do that. Slowly, I stood up. At least there weren't needles in me, holding me back. And the floor was steady, which was good. I breathed deeply in through my mouth, and took a step.

Then I noticed the air--it was just a bit _too_ breezy. I looked down, where, to my horror, I saw that my body was covered only by a short, papery-thin gown. A groan erupted in the back of my throat.

Great. Just great. Now the whole world would be able to see my banged-up legs, even the hideous scars that the slender oval between my shoulder-blades exposed.

_Oh, no, _I thought again. _No, no, no. How was I going to explain _those?

_You were just hit by a car... _I reminded myself._ Shouldn't that be excuse enough?_

Then again, there was that glaring issue of my scars being weeks, months, and years old. Some were nicely scabbed over, some were simply completely healed ridges along my body.

_'Oh, yeah, I have this abusive father whom I rain away from, resulting in a near-death experience involving a car and my boyfriend... _" Yeah. That would be fun to talk about.

It left me one option; to get the _hell_ out of the hospital, and preferably as quickly as I could. First, though, I wanted to find my clothes. For the first time, my eyes flickered across the plain room, disregarding the translucent green curtain dividing the space. However, there was no sign of my jeans, t-shirt, not even my underwear. This couldn't be happening.

Half-naked it would be, then. I just wanted _out of here._

I walked slowly towards the door, wincing in pain with each step, and peeked outside. The hall was deserted, but a quick peek at a window told me it couldn't be any later than twilight. Still, that seemed like a while. How long had I been out for?

_Edward,_ I urged myself. _Think about Edward._

And it was hard not to. My pace down the hall quickened, and as soon as I reached the next room, I peeked inside. Empty. The next one held an elderly man, sleeping peacefully on his white sheets. At that point, I'd reached the end of the corridor. Which way to turn? I looked up at the sign.

The first thing I noticed; I was in the ER. Oh, bleeding joy.

The second thing was that, directly ahead of me was the lobby. No, thank you.

The third thing; To my right were more rooms.

And then there was the fourth thing; To my left were the _operating_ rooms. I definitely wanted to steer clear of that direction. But what if Edward _was_ there? What if he was lying on a cold, metal table with his stomach sliced open? The thought put a lump in my throat. I swallowed hard, and tried to be optimistic.

I turned to the right, carefully peeking into each room. There was a small girl who, I was almost sure, had seen me, but it didn't matter. I kept moving, purposefully but with little confidence.

It took a while, but I found him. And it nearly killed me when I did.

Seeing him just lie there, his body limp and pale, tortured me. My eyes couldn't be torn away. It was an image burnt into my brain, one I would never forget. How could I have let this happen to him? If we had just stayed in New York...

Slowly, I approached him, laying a hand over his own. He looked tormented, even asleep (or possibly unconcious). There was a tiny crease between his eyes, and the corners of his mouth pulled down slightly. Was he having nightmares?

I took a deep calming breath. Time to focus.

"Edward?" My whisper was shaky, uncertain. What was I even doing, for Christ's sake? It wasn't like we could just walk out of the hospital in broad daylight without getting caught. Edward probably couldn't move much, anyway. Nevertheless, I whispered his name again. "Edward?"

His fingers twitched, his eyelids flickered, and then he was still once more. So he could hear me. A good sign. But Gabe would probably kill both of us when we got shipped back to the place I'd called home for almost eighteen years.

My hand squeezed his gently as I tried hard to think. So what were my options?

One: Try to run away, get caught, go back home. Get the both of us murdered by my father.

Two: The same, but with an explanation about Gabe. They would either send me to foster parents or a home until my birthday or possibly send me out on my own. Which would mean I'd become a bum and drag Edward down with me.

I concentrated, trying to find an option three. What had my mother told me? _"There's always a third option, Bella.You just have to find it."_ Huh. Something like that.

Then I struck gold.

Option Three: Get found out, get booted back to the east coast, but just tell everyone that I didn't even know Edward; I had just reached out to stop them. I wouldn't make him suffer for me.

Possible. Definitely possible.

I smiled down at my longtime companion tenderly, but painfully. Then, carefully, my fingers brushed across his cheekbone.

"Miss Swan?"

I froze. Crap, crap, _crap._ They already knew my name. I didn't turn around.

"Isabella?"

The voice waited for an answer, so I forced my rigid body to angle itself toward the tall, blonde doctor standing in the doorway. I hardly registered his features at all.

"No." It wasn't supposed to come out, but it did. A cracked, dry, whisper.

"Everything's going to be fine, Isabella. I just want to talk to you about...

"Well, about some of those injuries you have."

****

And that's where we end the chapter.

Short, I know. But review, please! You guys rule!

P.S. Fifteen reviews or no update. (:  
Even if you've already reviewed, pretty please!

And I'm thinking of doing a story about the Volturi--the whole Dydime, Marcus, Aro thing. But possibly with a few twists.  
Mmm. What do you think?


	10. Alternate pov: In His Eyes

**Okay. Since Not many people reviewed last chapter, I just want to put this out there so that, well, you might get more reviews.**

**It's going to be a very short version of Edward's POV of whole car thing.**

**Hey, remember. I'm new at this. (:**

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My fingers clenched my wallet; the only item in my pocket.

What if we were spotted? What would happen? I couldn't allow Bella to go back to that... that monster. The thought made me feel sick.

I started to withdraw my hand, but released my ferocious grip on the leather too late. The billfold fell from my fingers, and I clenched my jaw. Damn.

Frustrated, I almost allowed Bella to pull me back onto the sidewalk. But the moment my foot hit the concrete, I let go of her hand, took a step, and reached down for my wallet.

My hands had found the material when I heard her gasp. Instinctively, I twisted towards the sound? Was she hurt? What was wrong?

Then I saw a liscense plate, too near for comfort.

Then I saw Bella, her fingers almost touching my collar.

Then I saw nothing.

**--**

I wasn't comfortable. My head hurt.

Well, everything hurt. What had happened? Where was I? My brain was hazy and my thinking incoherent. Oh. Pain Meds. A hospital.

Panic filled me. Where was Bella? My lips twitched, ached to call out her name, hear her voice, but I couldn't move. Not even a finger could be lifted.

Nonetheless, half of my wish was fulfilled.

"Edward?" The gentle sound was like music.

_Bella,_ I wanted to say. _I'm right here, love. _I wanted to open my eyes, yearned to touch her hand. Feeble twitches were all I could manage.

Then again: "Edward?"

I heard her suck in a shaky breath. Oh, how I craved to hold her, feel the warmth of her skin against mine

A new, subtly accented voice cut in.

"Miss Swan?" Ah, so no more were we sheltered by a blanket of anonymity.

Through the fog, I felt Bella stiffen beside me.

The man spoke again.

"Isabella?"

This time, she spoke. A cracked, dry whisper issued from her mouth. "No."

"Everything's going to be fine, Isabella. I just want to talk to you about..."

A pause.

"Well, about some of those injuries you have."

The haze flooded my mind.

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**Well, review! Review review review! You don't get any more if you don't review, okay? Okay.**

**I mean it.**

**Tell me what you think. About this chapter and the last. **

**Pleasandthankyou.**


	11. Chapter Ten: The Battle of Tears

**Dear lovers;**

**I suck balls. Yes, I know that. I haven't updated in forever. Half of the time you've been waiting was procrastination, but half was the point in which the stupid skyinternet people in this new country claimed to have delivered three effing internet routers but did not.**

**Anyway, I've been super horrible. But I love you guys.**

**Oh, good news is that from all my free time on word, I've started writing a for serious story that I'm fifty single-spaced pages into. Except it'll never get published. But still, it's freaking fun.**

**But for good news, there is bad news: I lost my iPod. Yes, I did lose my bright green baby second edition nano. I miss it very much, and hopefully I'll get it back. So I'm running a little low on muse. Forgive me for my suckish-ness.**

**a;skjf;alskj. This chapter's inspiration? Why, it comes from "When I Go Down," by Relient K, the best Christian band that ever was.**

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**Bella's POV**

I was not at all comfortable.

Yes, the chair I was situated in was heavily padded, causing no pain against my tender back. But it did not take away the fact that I was in a too breezy, too papery hospital gown, and was sitting directly across from a man who was, though incredibly gorgeous, not making me happy right now. As far as I could tell, he was the devil come to put me back in hell.

"Well, Isabella," the man said quietly. "The situation you're in is quite complicated."

"Who are you?" My voice was cold, flat--rude.

"My name is Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I was present when you and Mr. Masen were almost killed by an oncoming car."

Ah. So this had been the man who had graciously given us a ride to the hospital. I didn't comment, though my anger eased up a little. I moved on to the next question. "What's so complicated about my 'situation?'"

He sighed and looked away from my face, pressing his fingers to his right temple while he studied a stack of papers in front of him. "You're a runaway," he stated.

"So, what?" I said bleakly. "You're just going to call Gabe"--I made the name sound like a dirty word-- "and send me back to New York. I don't see what's so complicated about that."

Something in my tone seemed to interest Dr. Cullen. His eyes moved back to my face, and they narrowed slightly in confusion at what he saw there. "So, you would simply allow me to send you back to you and your friend home--you would not even put up a fight, press me with a pity plea?"

I did not understand where this was going. If he was going to alert my damned father, why wasn't he doing so already? What if he had already called Gabe? My pulse jumped slightly in fear, and the bruises on my back throbbed sickeningly as my body anticipated what was to come.

I gritted my teeth. "First of all," I said in the calmest voice I could muster. I wasn't mad at this man, my brain reminded me. I was mad at myself. "Yes, I _would_ put up a fight if you wanted to send Edward home, too. If it was just me, it would be a different story. But second, I don't see why we're even having this discussion. It doesn't even make a difference." My voice melted into desperate sadness at the end. What was going to happen to me?

The doctor extended a hand toward me, almost as if he wanted to soothe me. After a moment's thought he lay it back down on the desk. Maybe he just didn't want to encourage me, to make me to think I was going to get out of this mess.

"Isabella..."

"Bella," I corrected. It was best to avoid confusion.

"Well, Bella," he continued. "I'm not quite sure I want to send you back to New York."

My expression did not change; I must have misheard the words. "Excuse me?"

Suddenly, Dr. Cullen's eyes seemed to burn, but with what I did not know. His gaze bored into me, and I could not look away. It would give me no escape from the intensity radiating from him. His voice was low, but still passionate. I did not understand it.

"There are bruises covering almost every inch of your skin. Your shoulder, back, and left arm have been burnt to the point where infection would be highly hazardous to your health. You have been cut in countless places, and obviously hurt in several other ways. Would you care to explain to me how this happened?"

I was ashamed; I stared down at my hands in my lap while he spoke, my eyes burning with tears. No response came through my lips, and by the end of his speech the liquid had overflowed onto my cheeks. How could I have been so careless? I should have prepared an explanation for this beforehand. I had known the real reason would otherwise be obvious. Soon, I was sobbing quietly, my head in my hands. What could I say?

A hand descended carefully on my shoulder. The doctor's voice was closer this time. "I can't send you back to an abusive father, Bella," he told me gently. "But I can't send you out on your own, either."

I turned my head to look at him from the side; he was kneeling down beside my chair, a tender expression on his appealing face.

"I don't understand," I moaned, pushing my hair back from my sticky face. "You don't have any other choices. We're in a hospital. Other doctors are involved, obviously."

"Actually..." he said hesitantly. "I have unimaginable resources in this hospital. The rooms I put the pair of you in are under the names of Elizabeth Chester and Jackson Rittel. According to your charts, your car accidentally rammed into a tree, and the back end swerved to hit 'Mr. Rittel.' The both of you were injured in the incident, in which a small fire broke out and your windshield was shattered."

Shock strangled my mind. Who _was _this man, and why was he going to such lengths to help me? My chest started to inflate with hope, but the balloon of my heart was popped by a sudden realization. My pessimism refused to go down without a fight. "There's only one problem," I sighed. "There aren't any crashed cars or fires."

"Your accident happened on an unmapped road outside of the city. I took you here personally and called the fire department."

"But--" I started to protest again, but he knew what I was going to say.

"We're in a hospital. In Seattle, a big city where there is no shortage of crime. No one would study your cases carefully enough to find anything amiss."

The hope was back again, expanding carefully in my ribcage. I was hesitant with it, careful. Happiness was only reality over expecation. "You don't want to send me out on my own," I said slowly, tilting my head slightly to the side. "But I don't quite understand what you plan to do with me." If he was going to put me in a special home, then I would most certainly be gone.

"Well, Bella," Dr. Cullen murmured as he moved into the chair beside me. "This is the point at which you get to choose. If you would like to, my wife and I would be more than willing to take you and Edward in."

I snorted. "You can't be serious." The idea was ludicrous; I laughed out loud. I hardly knew this man. What reason did anyone have to be so kind? This guy couldn't be real. And what if he didn't really have a wife, but was some creepy murderer or something along those lines. But no, we--well, _I_--had clearly seen his family in the car. Some of their names were still unclear to me. But if the thought was close enough, then this Dr. Carlisle Cullen was a very good actor.

The doctor nodded his head, his eyes never leaving my face. "Oh, I'm very serious, Bella. Esme and I both have had experience with children--though, judging from your maturity level, you're hardly a child--who have had parents who aren't exactly ideal."

I was thoughtful for a moment while I pondered the possibilities. If what this man was saying was true, then I would have no objection if Edward was okay with it. Edward, I remembered with a stab of pain. I would have to ask about his condition later. But on the other hand, we could just get away if our rescuer was a fraud. Sort of a win-win situation, I guessed. "The others in your car. Were they your family, too?"

"My adopted children, yes."

"What do they think about it?" I thought it was safe to assume that less problems would be caused if the other teenagers hated me.

He shrugged, and I raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue. Dr. Cullen was hesitant for a minute. "Ah. Well, they don't know quite yet," he admitted. "But they're all very well-mannered. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

_Well-mannered._ I thought about that for a moment. Something about his tone suggested he was not entirely sure what his family's verdict would be. Just because someone was _well-mannered,_ it didn't mean that they didn't have opinions. I swallowed hard, wanting so bad to say yes to the kind offer. But I knew that, logically, it was a bad decision to make, as spur-of-the-moment, as altering as it was. For heaven's sake, I had known Carlisle Cullen for all of Fifteen minutes! Now I was being offered to live with him?

Life isn't always rational, I reminded myself. If it was, then ice would be denser than water. There were exceptions to every rule.

"If Edward's okay with it..." I started.

"Yes, we'll get Mr. Masen's opinion, too." Dr. Cullen's gentle smile was a mix of everything I needed to see: kindness, reassurance, concern... With a ton of luck, this man could actually turn out to be real.

"Okay," I whispered, combing my fingers through my hair. "But how long until Edward wakes up."

"Not long, now. The drugs should be wearing off."

"And his... injuries?" The word was alien in my mouth; I had to swallow as I spoke it.

Dr. Cullen did not appear to want to answer the question. "Two fractured ribs, a concussion, and heavy brusing," he told me, then added quickly, "Really, though. It's not as bad as it sounds. The concussion is only minor, and your own deep muscle bruises are as bad as his."

"Two fractured ribs," I repeated in a moan, ignoring his reassurances. "A concussion. Deep muscle bruises." I clenched my teeth. "Just when I thought I couldn't screw him up anymore."

A crease appeared in the doctors forehead. "I don't..." he began, but then shook his head. "Nevermind. Right now, I think the best thing for us to do would be to wake Mr. Cullen up and depart. This is supposed to be my day off, after all."

Though he grinned at the last sentence, I flushed a light pink, slightly embarassed. On an emergency room doctor's vacation, I had managed to make life a whole lot more complicated than it could have been. Maybe, though, maybe it was just fate.

Maybe someone up there really did want us to pull through this.

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**Okeydokey, that's the end of the chapter.**

**Yeah. Be proud of me. I actually got it up, guys! Let's have a freaking party.**

**So please read and review. I've been taught my lesson with reviews, though; reviews are like a sex addiction. Pretty soon you're whoring around for them. [Thanks, Queen Annie-Ferny Cullen]. (:**

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